US factory activity growth slows in November: ISM

Workers check television sets before they are repackaged at Element Electronics in Winnsboro, South Carolina.

The pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector slowed less than expected in November, while a gauge of prices paid fell to its lowest in over two years, according to an industry report released on Monday.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to 58.7 from 59 the month before. The reading topped expectations of 57.8, however, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.

The gauge of prices paid fell to 44.5 from 53.5, marking the lowest level since July 2012 and the first reading below 50 since July 2013. That compared with economists' expectations for a drop to just 52, according to a Reuters poll.

The employment gauge slipped to 54.9 from 55.5. The new orders index, meanwhile, rose to 66 from 65.8 to mark the highest level since August.

A separate report showed global manufacturing activity expanded at its weakest pace in over a year in November, with new orders rising at their slowest rate since July 2013, a business survey showed on Monday.

JPMorgan's Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) produced with Markit, fell to 51.8 in November from October's 52.2.

That was the lowest reading since September 2013 but it has now come in above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for two years.

A sub-index covering new orders fell to 52.2 from October's 52.9.

The PMI combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia.

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